Suction cleaner



H. R. BALLOU SUCTION CLEANER April 5, 1932.

Filed Aug. -15, 1951 lWAV/4 /4 Patented Apr. 5, 1932 UNITED STATES HARRY R. BALLO'U, OF RUTLAND, VERMONT, ASSIGN OR TO THEHOOVER COMPANY, OF

NORTH CANTON, OHIO, CORPORATION OF OHIO f SUCTION CLEANER Application/med August 15, 1931. Serial No. 557,304.

The present invention relates to suction cleaners in general and particularly to new and novel means for adjusting the nozzle height of a suction cleaner. More specifically the invention comprises the provision -of a new and improved rear-castor-heightadjusting meansin a suction cleaner which is characterized byy its simplicity and location relative `to the cleaner body which protects itv from injury through contact with articles of furniture, etc.

It is an object ofthe presentrinvention to provide new and improved nozzle-height-adjusting means in a suction cleaner. A second object is the provision, in a suction cleaner, of new and improved rear-castor-height-adjusting means. A still further object is the provision, in a suction cleaner, of a centrally located rear castor adjustment. A still further object is the provision, in a suction cleaner, of rear-castor-adjusting means which are located centrally of the cleaner and parli of which'eXtends through the exhaust outlet of the cleaner. These and other more specific objects will appear upon reading the following specification and claims and upon considering in connection therewith the attached drawings.

In the drawings, in which a preferred em-l bodiment of the closed l Fig. 1 is a side 'View of a modern sugtion cleaner with the present invention embodied therein; Fig. 2 is a section upon the line 2-2Lof Figure l;

present invention is dis- `Fig. 3 is an enlarged section upon the line- 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. l is a section upon the line 4 4 of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a View looking in the direction of the arrows upon the line 5 5 of Figure 1;

Fig. 6 is a reduced plan view of the cleaner showlng the relative position of the heightadjustng means on the body.

In the modern suction cleaner, it is necessary to provide means to adjust the height of the cleaner nozzle relative to the surface covering undergoing cleaning. With the cleaner in use upon a relatively thick surface coverto bring the lips thereof into operative rela# 30 tionship with the said covering. This adjustment of the nozzle may be accomplished in one of several ways. The nozzle `may be raised or lowered by lraising or lowering both front ,and rear wheels, by adjusting only the front wheels, or by adjusting only the rear wheels.' The present invention comprises the provislon of new and novel adjusting means for raising and lowering the rear wheels of the cleaner. The positioning of the nozzle relative to the surface covering by means of raising and lowering the rea'i` supporting wheels to accomplish-l the pivoting ofthe cleaner body about the front supporting wheels as an "'15 axis is broadly old, and is well known. Heretofore many means have been used to accomplish the adjustment of the rear wheels such as sliding the wheel mounting vertically Telative to the cleaner body, or mounting the wheel or wheels upon a pivoted arm whose position is controlled by manually operable means. In the majority of these adjustment means for the rear wheels, however, a part ywhere it was readily accessible. In such a location the adjusting means is often contacted by articles of VJfurniture with resulting injurythereto and often to the adjusting means itself through being bent. In the adjusting means for a rear castor constructed in accordance with the present invention, the means are positioned centrally of the cleaner body, the controlling elements and the handcontacting parts being positioned in the longitudinal center line of the cleaner and, i-n fact, extending from below the cleaner 100 suction cleaner is disclosed which comprises ahmotor casingl whichhouses a suitable driving motor `for the unshown suctioncreating fan of the suction cleaner; a nozzle 2; a fan chamber 3,4 above whichthe motor casing 1 is positioned; and an exhaust out- ,let 4 which is provided at its end with an enlarged ange 5 to which isattached, by suitable means such as 6, the dust bag 7. The nozzlexend of the cleaner is supported by front lwheels 8, 8 of which` only one-is shown, there being a corresponding member upon the opposite side of the cleaner. At the rear of the'cleaner immediatelyjbelow the exhaust outlet 4 are positioned the rear castors or supporting wheels 9, 9,-the controlling or adjust'- ing means for which comprise the present invention. -As in the usual suction cleaner a pivoted 'handle 10 is provided by which the cleaner vmay be propelled over the surface covering undergoing cleaning by the" operator.

The spaced supporting wheels 9,9 are rotatably mounted upon the transversely extending rear axle 10 which is itself non-rotatably seated inthe pivoted U-bracket 1l, said axle being non-rotatably and detachably held relative thereto by means of the removable set screws 12, 12. The bracket 11 is pivotally mounted upon the ends of transversel'ly-extending pin 13 carried by the lower portion of bracket 14 which is'itself rigidly secured to the underside of the exhaustV passageway 4 by means of rivets 15, v15 etc. Midway between the supporting wheels 9, 9 in Asubstantially the longitudinal 'center line ofthe cleaner and enclosing the wheel axle 10, is the lower end of the vertically extending shaft 16 The pivoted bracket 11 is provided vwith a cut-away or recessed portion 17 -v at its mid-portion to permit the seating of shaft 16 upon the axle 10, the shaft being provided with bore 18.to receive the shaft.

,Shaft 16 extends substantially vertically and passes upwardly through the exhaust passageway 4 which is provided with a tube or passageway 1 9. -Tube 19 may beemade of sheet metal \or similar material andJis sealed gt its upper and lower ends in the openings 0 and 21 in the passageway 4 to prevent the leakage of ythe dirt-laden air to the exterior atmosphere. Tube 19 is of somewhat llarger diameter or size than the shaft 16 to permit that member a slight transverse or swinging movement upon the adjustment of the supporting wheels. 4The upper end of the shaft 16 is` threaded, as at 22, and is yseated in screwthreaded relationship within the rotatable `inner portion23 jof the manually rotatable nut member, indicated generally by the reference character 24.

The manually rotatable member 24 comprises the inner rotatable element 23 which is provided with a circumferential channel which is seated in the opening 25 in the transversely extending section -of the bracket 26. The side arms of bracket 26 have horizontally extending feet 27, 27 each of which areseated between rubber cushions 28, 28 secured by means of the rivets 29, 29'and overlying cups 30, 30, to the top of the passageway 4. The

exterior of adjustable nut member 24 comprises an enclosing knurled cylindrical portion 31 which is non-rotatable relativeto, but axially slidable upon, the inner member 23 by means of its pin and groove relationship therewith; the pinl 32 carried by member 3l being slidable in the vertical groove or slot 33 iny theiexterior of member 2.3. A spiral spring 34 is positioned between the outer circumferential shoulder 35 onV member 23 and the inner circumferential shoulder 36 on the enclosing member 3]. which serves at all tiines to force the member 31 downwardly against the upper surface of bracket 26 thereby functioning to maintain the projecting V- shaped lugs 37, 37 carried by that member in the seats 38, 38 provided the bottom surface of member 31 to prevent unintended rotation. f A cap 39 is provided which com-v disengage the lugs 37, 37 from their cooperating notches 38, 38.- `This vertical movement' of the enclosing member 31 effects a slight compression of the spiral spring 34 andthe sliding of pin 32 in the slot 33. With the V-shaped lugs 37, 37 disengaged from their cooperating seats it is possible for the operator then to rotate the nut resulting in thek rotating of the inner` member 23, which encloses the upper threaded end 22 of shaft 16. Member 24 is `rotated either clock-wise or counter clock-wise depending upon whether it is desired to raise or lower the rear supportng wheels. Upon the rotation of the nut member 24 shaft 16 is raised or lowered through the advancing upwardly' or downwardly of its threaded end 22 in the verticallystationary member 23. Upon being raised or lowered the shaft 16 functions tol pivot the bracket, 11 about its supporting pin 13 on the stationary bracket 14. Thisv movement of bracket 11 obviously results in the'raising or lowering of the supporting wheels 9, 9 as 1s clearly evidenced in`Figure-3. The limits fof the pivotal movement of thebracket 11,

and so the vertical adjustments of the wheels 9, 9, is determined by the projecting lugs 40 and 4l on the bracket 14. Upon the 'pivoting of bracket 11 downwardly its side arms are contacted by the lug 40 upon reaching a certain definite lower position and likewise,upon being pivoted upwardly, the transversely-extending portion of bracket 11 is contacted, at a definlte upper position by the downwardly extending V-shaped lug 41 to prevent further upward movement. It is to be noted that the provision of the resilient mountings for the feet of the side arms of the bracket 26 results in the reduction of shock transmitted to the cleaner body from the supporting Wheels, insures quieter operation, and permits a slight tilting of the bracket upon the vertical adjustment of shaft 16.

I claim 1. In a suction cleaner, a body comprising a nozzle, a fan casing and an exhaust outlet, means to raise and lower said nozzle comprising a supporting wheel, means movably mounting sai-d wheel on said body, means connected to said mounting means extended upwardly through said exhaust outlet, and means on said exhaust outlet to vertically adjust said last-mentioned means.

2. In a suction cleaner, a body including an exhaust outlet, supporting means for sai-d body comprising a wheel, means movably mounting said wheel under said exhaust outlet, a substantially vertical shaft connected to said mounting means, a hollow tube in said outlet enclosing said shaft, and manually rotatable means mounted on the top of said exhaust outlet to raise and lower said shaft through said tube to effect the vertical a'djustment of said wheel relative to said body.

3. In a suction cleaner, a body including an exhaust outlet, a bracket secured to the underside of said outlet, spaced supporting Wheels, means rotatably mounting said wheels on said bracket, means connected to said mounting means extended upwardly through the interior of said exhaust outlet, means preventing air-leakage from said outlet at the points of entrance and exit of said .upwardly-extending means, and means positioned on the top of said exhaust outlet to raise and lower said upwardly-extending means to effect the vertical adjustment of said I wheels relative to said body.

4. In a suction cleaner, a body including an exhaust outlet, a bracket secured to the underside of said outlet, spaced supporting wheels, means rotatably mounting said wheels on said bracket, a substantially Vertical shaft pivotally connected to said mounting means and extended upwardly through said exhaust outlet in substantially the longi tudinal center line of said cleaner, said shaft having a threaded upper end, and rotatable interiorly threaded means mounted on the top of said exhaust outlet in threaded relationship with said shaft adapted to raise or lower said shaft upon bein rotated.

5. In a suction cleaner, a ody including an exhaust outlet, a bracket secured to the underside of said outlet, spaced supporting wheels, means rotatably mounting said wheels on said bracket, a substantially verti cal shaft extended upwardly through said exhaust outlet in substantially the longitudinal center line of said cleaner adapted to raise and lower said wheels, said shaft having a threaded upper end, a resiliently mounted bracket on the top of said exhaust outlet, an interiorly threaded manually rotatable member carried by said' bracket in threaded relationship with said shaft and adapted to yraise or lower same upon being rotated, and means preventing unintended rotation of said manually rotatable member.

6. In a suction cleaner, a body including an exhaust outlet, a bracket rigidly Secured to the underside of said outlet, spaced supporting wheels, means pivotally mounting said wheels on said bracket, a substantially vertical shaft pivotally connected to said means and extended upwardly through said exhaust outlet in substantially the longitudi nal center line of said cleaner, said shaft having a threaded upper end, a U-shaped bracket, resilient means seating said bracket on the upper surface of said exhaust outlet, a manually rotatable interiorly threaded member seated on said bracket in screw threaded relationship with said shaft and adapted to raise and lower said shaft upon being rotated, and means to prevent unintended rotation of said manually rotatable member.

7. In a suction cleaner, a body comprising a nozzle, a fan casing andan exhaust outlet, means to raise and lower said nozzle including a supporting wheel and means connected to said wheel extended upwardly through said exhaust outlet and means on said exhaust outlet to vertically adjust said lastmentioned means.

Signed at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio this 24th day of 

